Chords of Steel
by Door Is Ajar
Summary: The trial had caused Athena unbearable pain to her ears; so when the Judge calls for a recess, the paired attorneys struggle to find a way to cure the damage and return to the case.


Thirty minutes. A half hour, the case was going great. A new witness was taking the stand, a Mr. Jean Kid. He testified- and Apollo was left to scrounge through his piece of history for twenty minutes. He was reaching a dead end, and fast. His bracelet wasn't picking up anything, but maybe the Mood Matrix could.

"Hey, Athena-" he started. Even if it was a slight whisper to his partner on the bench, he was sure Prosecutor Blackquill and even the Judge could have noted his slight hesitation. "Are... Are you alright?"

He looked her up and down, assuring she wouldn't pass out on him. She gripped at the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white. If he had known better, it would have been obvious the grip was preventing her hands from shielding her ears: only something he would learn later. He also noted the sweat on her face, which she at least was aware enough of to release her grip and wipe with her sleeve. Sure, they both had their fair share of sweating in the face of road blocks. But they were doing fine, minus the short coming they were soon reaching.

"Just keep going, Apollo, I'm fine."

It was rather soft-spoken, and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Are you sure? I can ask the judge for a recess."

"I promise. Just... Just ask him about why he's happy when he describes the past murder of his wife."

He did just that. But he could have sworn Athena only got worse as the events were explained.

Of course, after the testimony, followed by the cross-examination- which Apollo uncovered the happiness to his wife really being his ex-wife, as well as the custody of his kids being returned to him- the Judge formally declared a recess, on the pretense that both the Prosecution and the Defense needed to regroup and reorganize.

Apollo dragged Athena out, pulling her arm along the way. They hid out in Defendant Lobby 5, while their client was slowly fighting the crowd out of the court room. He pushed her in a couch, not bothering to accompany her.

She brought her hands up to finally cover her ears. It took a moment of silence before Athena answered his unspoken question.

"His testimony doesn't line up. One piece can be filled with happiness and sadness at the same time, all the while every truth you poke up about it should only lead to one. But one of them never dies down. Not even the noise level dies down. It's like he's manipulating his emotions to prevent something from being brought up."

He could only listen, taking in her perspective of the case.

"What should I do? I mean, obviously I'm no help to you if I can't even use the Mood Matrix."

"But you are helping, Athena. You just told me that none of his emotions are solid."

She shook her head. "I meant me, personally. I... I couldn't even talk in there. After hearing him, every noise hurt, even if it were logical and fit the actual statement. How am I supposed to continue on with this case if he obviously knows how to prevent emotions from being used on him?"

She had a point. He, on the other hand, couldn't care less. "You wouldn't happen to think a Chords of Steel workout would help about now, do you?"

Her head lifted. "Huh?"

"Yeah!" He halted, knowing his booming voice should be held off until the a-okay. "After all, I'm sure the silence out here has helped a little, am I right?" She nodded her head, waiting for him to continue. "And, just like the Mood Matrix, there is no noise to hurt your ears. However, maybe if your ears are filled with a sound that fully matches the words and meaning behind it, you should be fine to go back in. At least for a little while. What do you say?"

There was a pause, followed by Athena smirking at his patience. "That sounds so dumb, Apollo, but it sounds so logical."

"So you'll try?"

A sigh, a smile gracing her lips. "Sure."

"On the count of three, together. Alright?"

"One."

"Two."

Both sucked in a breath of air for three. "We're Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, and we're fine!"

 ** _End_**


End file.
